You Should've Used Protection
by Wild Fantasy
Summary: A simple story regarding Richter dealing with his pregnant wife. Someone should shoot me for this!


**Authoress' Note: **Here you go, something cute I posted on DA is now brought to Fanficion. I hope you guys not die from the waff present in this ficlet.

He was the happiest man on Earth. As soon as he heard those words from his beloved, he felt joy overtake his whole being.

"I am with child," Annette exclaimed, her face radiant.

With that said, nothing else existed except the coming of his child.

Annette sat down, her hands cupping her still-flat belly. "Isn't this marvelous news!"

"The very best, my love," Richter murmured, placing his own hand on her belly. "And soon, our family will be complete."

-

Richter returned to the Belmont manor. The servants were bustling about, and he maneuvered past them, keen on reaching his wife. He had a gift, and he couldn't wait to give it to his beloved.

When he opened the door, he saw his wife by the windowsill, her hands stroking her stomach while humming a pleasant tune.

"Ann," he said, "I have a gift I wish to give you."

He held out his palm, in which a beautiful silver brooch glistened in the sun. Annette smiled and kissed her husband, taking the brooch into her hands.

"Thank you," she said, staring at the small trinket. "This is a lovely present. And from you, no less!"

He grinned as he sheepishly scatched his nose. "I was blessed in choosing something for my lovely wife, I guess."

Annette laughed, and he joined right in.

"And now, my lady, I must take my leave," Richter sighed, adding an exaggerated bow. "There is business to attend to, though I do wish to spend it with you."

When he began to walk to the door, a soft hand grabbed his, tugging him back. He turned to see Annette with a faint blush on her cheek.

"B-before you leave... can you ask the servants something?"

"What do you wish for, Ann?" Richter asked.

"...Could you ask the servants to send me some apples and ham?"

Richter raised an eyebrow. "Apples and ham?"

Annette nodded. "Apples and ham."

He paused. This is very strange...

Ann frowned slightly. "I am rather hungry, and apples and ham is what I crave for."

Cravings.

Richter then stared at her belly. He knew about the strange things women might crave when pregnant, but...

"Apples and ham it is," Richter nodded, striding out the door.

-

Annette's belly was now a little more pronounced. She was busy fussing over arranging the flowers by the windows. Richter watched her, confused as always. What was the point, he thought, why bother arranging them at all?

Annette picked up a rose and smelled it, enjoying its sweet scent before placing it on the vase. And then she began to cry.

"Ann?" Richter yelped, rushing to her side.

"I cannot do it!" she cried out, tears streaming down her face.

"What, rearrange the flowers?"

Richter was torn between amusement and relief. He was a little worried that something happened to the babe, but the flowers were the target of her sadness.

"No, I cannot make this place suitable for the baby!"

...Maybe not.

He looked around. The room was spotlessly clean, the bed linens fresh, the area smelling of roses. What was wrong?

"Please leave me be, I want to try again," Annette said, and her attention was then focused on the flower vase again. To make matters more confusing, she was smiling, her tears forgotten.

The poor vampire hunter was at a complete loss for words. What just happened, Richter thought, and he began to ponder that while his wife busied herself around the room again.

-

Richter wiped the sweat of his brow. He thought that taking care of matters in his own home was tiring work, but now...

"Be a dear and move the crib by the window," Annette said cheerfully, stroking her large belly.

He obeyed and placed the baby's crib in the designated location, but then stopped when she smacked his wrist.

"No, silly, not too close! Who knows if monsters or worse try to reach our child from there?"

"Then I shall take care of them with my whip!" Richter said , his cobalt eyes shining dangerously. Merely the idea of that happening triggered his protective instincts... not that they weren't in play already. God knew just how close an eye he kept on his beloved wife.

"I know you will, but, just as a precaution..." Annette then pointed somewhere near the fireplace, "place the crib nearby the fireplace, so the baby can be warm."

He proceeded to do that until a stronger smack on the wrist stopped him yet again.

"No, silly, not too close! Suppose the crib catches fire, then...!"

Richter stifled a groan, now pretending to listen to his wife.

He thought that pregnancy was a beautiful thing, but if he was given a choice between facing Castlevania or having another son, he would gladly choose the former with no hesitation.

-

Richter was pacing back and forth nervously, trying to not focus on his wife's screams.

The baby was coming to this world. He will become a father soon.

Another scream. It was all he could do and not barge in to see his wife.

Come on Ann, you can do this, you are strong, Richter thought. God in Heaven, help her!

A final scream, and then the wails of a baby joined in. Relief swept through him, he was a father!

"You may see her now," a doctor said, after a few minutes. "We cleaned her up. She's keen on seeing you."

Opening the door a little wider, the doctor allowed Richter to walk in.

He saw her face aglow with happiness, and when he approached her, he saw the sleeping bundle in her arms.

"It's a boy," Annette whispered, tired from labor. "He's our son."

The baby began to cry. She smiled and handed the crying child to him. "I think he wants you."

Richter held his child, and a sudden feeling of warmth spread through him. His child stopped crying and opened his eyes. Clear blue eyes looked back at his own.

"He has my eyes... and your hair, it seems," Richter murmured happily, staring at the blonde fuzz on his son's head.

"How I wish we had another child!" Richter exclaimed, but no sooner that he said until he instantly regretted it.

His regret was cemented when he saw his wife's delighted smile on her face.

Dear God, not this again!


End file.
